FAQs: Breast Augmentation Survey & Breast Implants

Breast Augmentation Survey Results

These are the results of the Breast Augmentation Survey. There were 61 participants who took the survey. When looking at the results, keep in mind that 86% of the participants had had their breast implants for 1 year or less.

Angie, one of our frequent visitors, conducted an informal survey of 61 visitors by email. I cannot verify the accuracy of the results or the usefulness of them given the small sampling. However, it certainly helps to see what women have to say on common issues. As with all things saline, please take the results with a grain of salt. Angie, thank you for taking the time!

- Nicole

---

1. How long have you had breast implants?
a. less than 1 month 34%
b. 1 month - 6 months 41%
c. 6 months - 1 year 11%
d. 1 - 5 years 10%
e. 6 - 10 years 2%
f. 11 - 20 years 2%
g. more than 20 years 0%

2. What brand of breast implant do you have?
a.. Mentor 49%
b. McGhan 46%
c. Other 5%

3. What type of filling does your breast implant have?
a. Saline 99%
b. Silicone 0%
c. Soy Oil 0%
d. Other(Please specify) 1%

4. What shape is your breast implant?
a. Round 82%
b. Anatomical 17%
c. Other(Please specify) 1%

5. What type of surface does your breast implant have?
a. Smooth 62%
b. Textured 38%
c. Other (Please Specify)

6. Where is your breast implant placed?
a. Over the muscle 18%
b. Under the muscle 80%
c. Part over/under 2%

7. What type of implant incision did you have?
a. Nipple 39%
b. Underarm 10%
c. Underneath/crease 48%
d. TUBA 3%

8. What was your (approximate) cup size goal?
a. B 7%
b. C 53%
c. D 30%
d. DD 5%
e. other (please specify) : 5%

9. Was your cup size goal achieved?
a. yes 84%
b. no 16%

10. Did you require pain medication following your surgery?
a. yes 92%
b. no 8%

11. UNDERS ONLY - Approximately how long after your surgery did you require prescription pain medication? (or, if you did not use prescription
medication, how long until you began to feel much better - well enough to move around easily, do small chores, rest peacefully)
a. 1 day 21%
b. 3 days 22%
c. 5 days 33%
d. 7 days 12%
e. other (please specify) 12%

12. OVERS ONLY- Approximately how long after your surgery did you require prescription pain medication? (or, if you did not use prescription medication, how long until you began to feel much better - well enough to move around easily, do small chores, rest peacefully)
a. 1 day 27%
b. 3 days 55%
c. 5 days 0%
d. 7 days 9%
e. other  9%

13. How long did you have nausea following your surgery?
a. no nausea 56%
b. 1 day 39%
c. 3 days 3%
d. 5 days 2%
e. 6 days or more 0%

14. Have you had any of the following problems within 6 months of your surgery?(check all that apply)
a. no problems 29%
b. infection 3%
c. uneven size 14%
d. uneven placement 8%
e. numbness 46%
f. rippling or wrinkling 20%
g. extreme firmness 14%
h. rupture or deflation 2%
i. too high on chest 14%
j. other:17%

15. Did the problem(s) eventually correct itself?
a. yes 41%
b. no 59%

16. Has your nipple sensitivity changed since your surgery?
a. dramatically decreased 15%
b. moderately decreased 8%
c. slightly decreased 12%
d. no change 31%
e. increased sensitivity 34%

17. Have you had any problems with capsular contracture?
a. yes 3%
b. no 97%

18. Have you ever had an implant rupture of deflate?
a. yes 5%
b. no 95%

19. If you answered yes, how old was the implant?:
The answers were : 3 days, 4 years, and 14 years

20. Rate your surgeon on a scale of 1 - 10. (10 being best):
3% rated surgeon 3 or below, 11% rated 4-6, 43% rated 7-9, 43% rated 10, average rating - 8.5

21. Was your surgeon a :
a. male 92%
b. female 8%

22. What was the approximate cost of your breast augmentation surgery?
a. $2000 or less 0% d. $4001 - 5000 58%
b. $2001 - 3000 3% e. $5001 - 6000 16%
c. $3001 - 4000 16% f. more than $6000 7%

23. Which of the following best describes your most important reason for having a breast augmentation?
a. cosmetic reasons 95%
b. reconstructive/medical reasons 2%
c. job related decision 2%
d. other (please specify): 1%

24. If you could turn the clock back to your pre-surgery days, would you still get a breast augmentation?
a. yes 95%
b. no 5%

25. If you could describe your breast augmentation experience with one word, what would it be?  
Answers included - awesome (6 times),great (4 times), exciting
(4times),good (2 times), positive (2 times), painful (2 times), excellent,
life-changing, fulfillment, wow, whew, uplifting, scary, easy, magnificent,
exhilarating, grotesque, fantastic, stressful, etc. 70% of the comments are
positive, 20% are neutral, and 10% are negative)

26. After your surgery and recovery, did you wish you had gone "bigger"?
a. yes 42%
b. no 58%

27. Please rate your breast augmentation experience on a scale of 1-10.(10 being best)
3% rated the experience 3 or below, 14% rated 4,5, or 6, 55% rated 7,8, or 9, and 28% rated 10. Average rating was 8.1

Some other variations I worked up using the survey results:

Information from women with under the muscle implants:
round, smooth implants 65%
round, textured implants 19%
anatomical, textured implants 16%

Under the muscle incision types:
nipple 41%
underarm 12%
underneath/crease 43%
tuba 4%

Information from women with over the muscle implants:
round, smooth implants 50%
round, textured implants 30%
anatomical, textured implants 20%

Over the muscle incision types:
nipple 18%
underneath/crease 82%